Chapter 2:  Introducing Maurice

Somewhere in the darkness of the cave, the cave that both Ava and Gage thought they had known so well, there was a mysterious hole.  Gage somersaulted down into it, with Ava being dragged behind him.  Down they fell into the ink black hole, scraping the dirt-covered sides.  “AAAAAAHHHHHHH!” both Ava and Gage yelled as they fell and fell and fell.  The hole seemed to have no bottom!  

Eventually the hole began to angle out, becoming more of a slide.  As they slid, little lanterns began to appear along the sides, but both kids were too frightened from their fall to consider that little lanterns in a tunnel was a bit strange.  However, they weren’t scared enough not to notice an ever growing black shape at the end of the tunnel.  

“We’re going to hit it,” yelled Ava.

“Yaaa!” yelled the kids as they ran right into the black roadblock with a thud.  “Oooff!” yelled the blockade as Gage and Ava tumbled with it over and over.  All three finally stopped rolling at the flat bottom of the tunnel.  

“Oooh,” moaned Ava.

“Ah, man,” groaned Gage.

“Ouch,” griped the black blob.  

“Huh?” asked Ava.

“I said ah, man,” muttered Gage.

“And I said ouch,” said the other thing.

Ava leaned up and gazed at the noisemaker.  She saw two antennas, scary looking eyes, and six hairy legs.  She scrambled to her feet and began to rush back up the tunnel.  “Gage, run!’ she screamed.

“Huh?” Gage looked down the tunnel and peered at the strange creature.  His eyeballs nearly popped out of his head.  “Mo…mo…mo…monster!” he shouted.

“A…a…a…alien!” shouted the monster.  He started skittering the other way.

Now Gage could have run off with his sister, but he didn’t.  Instead he cried out, “Hey, dude!  Hold up!”

Surprisingly, the monster did hold up.  He turned around slowly, and Gage got a really close look at him.  “Wait,” he breathed, “you’re an ant!”

The ant moved cautiously toward Gage.  “Wow,” it said, “you’re a miniature foot stomper!”

“A what?” Gage asked.  By now Ava had realized that there was absolutely no way she’d be able to climb back up the tunnel, and she had come back to stand behind Gage.

“You’re a foot stomper,” repeated the ant.  “You’re one of those beasts that stomp on us with your feet.” Then he paused.  “I didn’t know they made foot stompers this tiny.”

“Well, I’ve never seen an ant so big.  And sorry about stomping, I guess,” Gage said.  Gage decided he wasn’t going to mention the other horrible things he’d been known to do to ants, like using a magnifying glass to scorch them or starving them in an ant farm.  

“The name’s Maurice,” said the ant.  “I’m a scout ant on duty.  Usually I’m scouting for food, but today I was on the lookout for red ants.  Never expected to see this.”

“Red ants?” asked Gage.  “Ooh, I really don’t like those guys.  I dug up one of their mounds one time and got bites all up and down my arms.  I had little red welts that itched for days!”

“Yeah, if they can hurt big ole’ foot stompers,” said Maurice, “imagine what they can do to us.”

“Do you get red bumps, too?”

Ava slapped her forehead.  “No, you goof,” she said.  “They die.”

“Oh!” gasped Gage.

“They’re mean, they’re super aggressive, and plus they want to take over the world,” added Maurice.  “Maybe that’s why I found you.  Maybe you’re supposed to help us!  I’ve got to take you to the Queen.”